But that didn’t stop the dump-truck driver from grinning at the media.

Defense lawyer James Kousouros said his client wasn’t being disrespectful.

“Everybody reacts to stress and panic in different ways. I can assure you he is absolutely and utterly devastated,” Kousouros said.

Montelbano drove off even though a witness alerted him that he had hit someone, prosecutors said. Cops tracked him down through his license plates, sources said.

Prosecutor Patricia Collins claimed Montelbano was involved in a fatal car crash at that same spot several years ago, although the suspect has no criminal record in New York.

Montelbano was held in lieu of $25,000 cash bail.

Liu, a Chinese immigrant who lived in low-income housing for seniors on West 54th Street, was walking up Ninth Avenue on Tuesday morning when Montelbano hit her as he turned right onto 41st Street, cops said.

“He killed someone and he left a scene,” said Liu’s 101-year-old widow, Joseph Muldavin. “If it was a real accident, he would have called the police himself.”

Liu, who moved to the United States 15 years ago, loved to read and was learning English, Muldavin said. The couple met through a friend and enjoyed dancing.